S03.E01: To Race The Shadow

[paulvdb]

Quote

Chaos erupts within the White Tower as our heroes beocme targets of a new evil.

Premiere date: March 13, 2025

[Hanahope]

Well that moved things along rather quickly and cleared out a lot of Aes Sedai.  And now the group is split again, with different plans and goals and Rand taking charge.  

[thuganomics85]

The Wheel of Time has returned a.k.a. the fantasy streaming show that is flawed and a lot of the internet has declared mediocre at best, and I yet I honestly kind of like it way more compared to the majority of its peers.

Should have known not to underestimate Liandrin.  Just when it looks like her goose is cooked and she is going to pay for her crimes, it turns out that the Black Ajah had actually infiltrated almost every faction of the Aes Sedai and acted accordingly once Siuan tried to put a stop to her.  At least the majority of the main cast made it out in one piece, but the Aes Sedai definitely got their asses handed to them.  Combine that with the Black Ajah also making out with a bunch of their relics and it looks like they have a lot of ground to cover!

Not surprised that the group is split off again, but hopefully they'll be reunited at some point.  I've grown to like the Two River crew and how they play off one another.  But I guess it makes sense that the likes of Nynaeve and Mat will stay behind, because she still needs master all of her powers, and Mat clearly needs some kind of assistance since his mind is all over the place.  Curious about Perrin going back to Two Rivers, because I'm wondering what has happened to everyone there since the first season.

Egwene takes the arch test, has her own ring, and will now be following Rand with his journey.  But her glimpse of the possible future isn't pleasant: Rand goes mad, kills Ferrin and Matt, and she might be the one who has to put him down (and is the new "mother" as well.)

I initially thought Aviendha/Rand's lead bodyguard was being set up last season to be Ferrin's love interest, but it looks like she's more into Elayne instead!  Don't blame her because Elayne is the best!

Lan is right that they can't trust Lanfear, but I'm all for her sticking around as a reluctant ally for the gang (for now!)  Natasha O'Keeffe continues to steal all scenes.

Moiraine is starting to realize that her influence over Rand is not as sturdy as it once was.

Moghedien continues to be effectively creepy.  Have a feeling that she and the rest of the unseen Forsaken are going to make Selene and even Ishamael (RIP) almost seem reasonable.

Once again, the show's biggest weakness is its inability to stage a coherent action sequence in the dark.  I couldn't tell what was going on half of the time during the assassination attempt.  Sucks since the opening Aes Sedai battle was pretty well done.

Edited March 14 by thuganomics85

[tennisgurl]

That opening fight was an awesome welcome back from the show and a declaration that shit will be seriously going down. The budget looks like its gotten another bump up because the spells flying and all of the stuff exploding everywhere was very impressive. The Aes Sedai have been so poised and austere as an organization (mostly) so its pretty great to see them cut loose with their power and have some real challenges, losing so many to death or betrayal and not knowing who to trust going forward. 

Its always nice when the whole Two River gang is together, they have really nice chemistry and bring out the fun in each other when the show gets too serious, but now its time to split again. Hopefully its not for the whole season, I know that the books are pretty infamous for its millions of plots and characters, most of whom are hardly connected to each other, but that's a lot harder to pull off in a show. 

I continue to love Lanfear, she always show up when you least expect, looking like a goth supermodel, sews some chaos with a big smile on her face, then disappears. I like that her and Moraine got to interact, they have a really interesting vibe. 

Matt, I know your going through it and your goofiness is one of your best qualities, but maybe don't yell all around town about your sacred horn and your chosen one bestie while multiple super powered factions are trying to kill you? 

I loved Liandrin's "well...it was worth a try" reaction when she knew she was busted and outted as Black Ajah. I also found it kind of hilarious when Alanna and her warders ran into some of the Black Ajah running around the new empty seeming city, it looked like they were just transported to a shoot-out in the wild west, I half expected to see a tumbleweed passing by. 

[SueB]

On 3/13/2025 at 11:32 PM, thuganomics85 said:

The Wheel of Time has returned a.k.a. the fantasy streaming show that is flawed and a lot of the internet has declared mediocre at best, and I yet I honestly kind of like it way more compared to the majority of its peers.

Should have known not to underestimate Liandrin.  Just when it looks like her goose is cooked and she is going to pay for her crimes, it turns out that the Black Ajah had actually infiltrated almost every faction of the Aes Sedai and acted accordingly once Siuan tried to put a stop to her.  At least the majority of the main cast made it out in one piece, but the Aes Sedai definitely got their asses handed to them.  Combine that with the Black Ajah also making out with a bunch of their relics and it looks like they have a lot of ground to cover!

Not surprised that the group is split off again, but hopefully they'll be reunited at some point.  I've grown to like the Two River crew and how they play off one another.  But I guess it makes sense that the likes of Nynaeve and Mat will stay behind, because she still needs master all of her powers, and Mat clearly needs some kind of assistance since his mind is all over the place.  Curious about Perrin going back to Two Rivers, because I'm wondering what has happened to everyone there since the first season.

Egwene takes the arch test, has her own ring, and will now be following Rand with his journey.  But her glimpse of the possible future isn't pleasant: Rand goes mad, kills Ferrin and Matt, and she might be the one who has to put him down (and is the new "mother" as well.)

I initially thought Aviendha/Rand's lead bodyguard was being set up last season to be Ferrin's love interest, but it looks like she's more into Elayne instead!  Don't blame her because Elayne is the best!

Lan is right that they can't trust Lanfear, but I'm all for her sticking around as a reluctant ally for the gang (for now!)  Natasha O'Keeffe continues to steal all scenes.

Moiraine is starting to realize that her influence over Rand is not as sturdy as it once was.

Moghedien continues to be effectively creepy.  Have a feeling that she and the rest of the unseen Forsaken are going to make Selene and even Ishamael (RIP) almost seem reasonable.

Once again, the show's biggest weakness is its inability to stage a coherent action sequence in the dark.  I couldn't tell what was going on half of the time during the assassination attempt.  Sucks since the opening Aes Sedai battle was pretty well done.

I’m watching on my IPad and turn up to full bright on the screen.  If that is an option for your viewing device and you haven’t don’t it, strongly recommended.  I agree the scenes can be dark but with full brightness on my iPad I felt I got everything.  
 

Also, I agree - Landsat (while psychotic) is a helluva lot better than the Spider (Moghedien).  

[Danny Franks]

I wasn't a fan of the opening scene, with the Black Ajah revealing themselves. It was clunkily written and executed, with lots of very theatrical walking about the stage. Too many very quick reveals for any of them to really land. 

I did like Leane beating that White Sitter to death with her staff, though. She's so badass. But there's no way that Alanna and her warders could face off against a whole group of Aes Sedai and almost defeat them.

Jeaine actually enjoying the deaths of her warders was super fucked up. I like that.

Rand already has a guard of Aiel Maidens. They don't seem impressed with him. I love that they completely ignored Moiraine's instructions to hide their weapons.

Mat is just waving around the Horn of Valere, bragging about it as he gets drunk, and fantasising about Aiel women. And he's still accidentally using the Old Tongue.

And of course he wants to play Maidens' Kiss. I liked Perrin trying to warn him. Also, the cuts on Mat's neck in his scene with Nynaeve told a story of their own.

Seeing him open up to Nynaeve and talk about the pain of his newfound memories was really nice. I like characters who communicate with the people who love them.

Perrin still seems quietly tortured, which is very on brand for him.

I think Rand is slightly underselling who Selene is. But even knowing she's Lanfear, he seems half-smitten. I get it. And I really like the tension between Lanfear and Moiraine - antagonistic but she just can't help coming across as super horny.

But Rand still trying to make it work with Egwene feels like trying to cling to the past, as Lanfear alluded to (not that she's jelly, of course).

Egwene has PTSD, and it reminds me how well they pulled off her arc last season. Those scenes were so disturbing, and so good. I guess her Accepted testing is her way of trying to move forward, but I'm not sure it's going to work out that way.

The costumes in Elayne's test were amazing. The three girls in ornate armoured dresses, Rand in a nice red coat and completely nuts. Give us more of that and less of the drab, nondescript shirts and coats.

Ooh, a Grey Man! That was unexpected. I always like it when Lanfear looks worried, because you know things are fucked up.

Bain is a woman of few words. "I go where she goes."

Finally, I love how incredibly creepy they've made Moghedien. Ishamael was a really interesting, complicated villain, Lanfear may not even be a villain at all in the end, but Moghedien is terrifying.

Edited March 15 by Danny Franks

[SueB]

On 3/13/2025 at 11:32 PM, thuganomics85 said:

 

Edited March 15 by SueB
Weird glitchy duplicate. Sorry

[SueB]

Good comments people!

 

My differences and adds:

 

I LOVED the first scene.  Look at you Siuan!  She deftly avoided acknowledging Liandrin spoke a lot of truths.  But she was wrong,Siuan didn’t let Rand go.  Lanfear interfered.  Siuan had Rand shielded and watched.   Siuan didn’t TELL the Tower though, so they’ll be a reckoning. 

 

But the fight!  Fantastic.  A bit gory for my taste but the book was gory.  Leanne and Alanna are such badasses!   

 

I love Verin.  She helps smooth over so much. 

 

Loved that Lan and Nynaeve get together and he gives her his ring.  

 

Agree that Egwene and Rand are holding on to the past.  Bittersweet. 

 

Rand asserting his agency pleases me. He’s got some complicated feelings going on with Lanfear. 

 

Egwene’s PTSD is hard to watch but realistic. 

 

Perrin going home makes sense.  He needs to out his wife’s death behind him and this will help. 

 

Mat, my poor Mat.  He’s a joker to hide the pain.  So glad Nynaeve supports him.  Also, fun shout out to the phallic visual of the tower.  Now there’s a thesis-in-waiting.  

Nynaeve’s failure to channel needs to get fixed.  I know she’s like an overpowered Marvel Superhero but her block is so disheartening.   

 

Moraine saving Siuan!  Those two are not yet done. And then making a deal with Lanfear.  Dangerous.  

 

Ah Lan.  Stay steadfast, gorgeous, conflicted and smart.  You are intellectual and visual eye candy I appreciate.  

 

Elayne is practically perfect in every way (Mary Poppins reference) but not a ‘Mary Sue.’   I love her diplomacy skills getting exercised.  She understands Rand’s burden. 

And she and Aviendah!   Well, that was a bit unexpected but daughter-heir Elayne has a definite rebel streak alongside her mantle of responsibility.  And I don’t mean because she’s with another woman.  I mean she’s sowing her own version of wild oats.  

 

Lanfear is deliciously complicated. Psycho regarding Rand (I think she’s torturing Egwene in the dreams - that’s her realm after all).  But she also seems Team Rand taking power.  

 

A really good start to S3

[DoctorAtomic]

Hello friends! Are we no booktalk? I'll spoiler tag just in case. 
I don't know how it really started, but the 57 year gap between all these prestige shows is annoying. I didn't remember a damn thing on Outlander. At least here, I have my book knowledge. However, it's hard to get excited when it's been so long. 

Glad they did a recap though. I forgot how much shop Rand wrecked in the finale. They should have shown Egwene tearing off the collar. 

The actor playing Liandrin continues to kill. Arguably, the best casting choice in the show. "Well, I tried!" Not even 10 minutes in and it's already bonkers. These people must have watched Farscape. It's a good touch to see the some of the Reds on the good side. The only thing -

Spoiler

Siuan isn't that strong. I suppose she had some trinkets hidden.

I really liked the visualization for the shielding. Cool concept. 

I'm already tired of the Aiel shitting all over Rand. Not that he shouldn't earn the title, but that's going to be overly much for me. 

I also like Egwene's total battle look now. I mean, my bag would have zero fucks if I was enslaved, straight up murdered my captor while enduring excruciating pain, and then holding Ish off. I'd be over a whole lot at that point. And then get the ring and tell off the Seat. Not that she's carrying around trauma or anything. 

3 hours ago, Danny Franks said:

But even knowing she's Lanfear, he seems half-smitten.

Don't forget - Rand is the Dragon REBORN. That's the key part. Lanfear was from back then. She knows things that Rand needs to know. 

 

I don't know if the wink was better or Ewgene's patent incredulity in reaction.

[shrewd.buddha]

The first fifteen minutes were an impressive surprise - one that made me wonder if that was the entire special effects budget and the rest of the season was going to be a lot of wandering around in a desert. 

  As a non-book reader, I wasn't especially excited to return for season 3.  There does seem to be a lot of world building .. but a lot of it feels chaotic. Jumping back and forth between five or six star-crossed couples was a bit jarring.

  The literally magic healing of main characters seems to lower the stakes.  No one is going to die until the plot decides it's their time.  All that violence in the beginning .. yet only one guardian guy of significance seemed to have died - all the rest seemed like redshirts.

  The main thrust seems to be angsty tragic romances (for many main characters) and the power of BFF's to overcome anything. And that is  perfectly okay for YA stuff.
  However, I am not fond of the dreamscapes and alternate realities where everyone dies or perfect lives have to be abandoned. It is the type of have-your-cake-and-eat-it-too tragedies that happen in a lot of YA genre.

The preview of the rest of the season at the end of the episode was excessive. Does Amazon really think they need to give away that much in order to keep people watching? 

[Noneofyourbusiness]

On 3/15/2025 at 4:22 PM, DoctorAtomic said:

Hello friends! Are we no booktalk? I'll spoiler tag just in case.

The previous seasons' episode threads were tagged "nobooktalk", although the creator of them seems to have forgotten to do that this season, so I think we should have a self-imposed rule of using spoiler tags for book discussion in Season 3 episode threads as well like you said.

[quarks]

7 hours ago, shrewd.buddha said:

The preview of the rest of the season at the end of the episode was excessive. Does Amazon really think they need to give away that much in order to keep people watching? 

Heh. As a book reader, I had the exact opposite reaction: AMAZON! WHY AREN'T YOU TELLING ME IF WE ARE GETTING [major spoilery things] THIS SEASON OR EVEN NEXT SEASON? WHY WHY WHY?

But agreed that it was a pretty long preview, as these things go, so I see your point.

[paulvdb]

15 hours ago, Noneofyourbusiness said:

The previous seasons' episode threads were tagged "nobooktalk", although the creator of them seems to have forgotten to do that this season, so I think we should have a self-imposed rule of using spoiler tags for book discussion in Season 3 episode threads as well like you said.

Sorry, I forgot to add the tag this time. Luckily we can edit posts up to a week so I could still add the tag to this season's episode topics.

[Noneofyourbusiness]

7 hours ago, paulvdb said:

Sorry, I forgot to add the tag this time. Luckily we can edit posts up to a week so I could still add the tag to this season's episode topics.

Thank you.

[Ottis]

On 3/14/2025 at 12:16 PM, tennisgurl said:

That opening fight was an awesome welcome back from the show and a declaration that shit will be seriously going down.

Agree, I rather enjoyed that. Shame the rest of the ep regressed to blah, blah, blah. At least they had the common sense to not make us watch the silly arches tests again, where you already know what happened so "choosing your own adventure" is both obvious and has no impact.

Matt's still a dick. Enemies searching for them and he has to go get laid, and drag his buddies along.

I like what the actor is doing with Rand, showing him growing more mature and becoming stronger. I assume the deepening of the voice and increasing presence are acting choices and not that he is actually maturing IRL.

"They found us, didn't they?" after the mirror attack. You think? You know, staying in might have helped. Also? That mirror attack scene was so dark it was hard to tell what was happening. Lots of Rands, and then maybe weapons that controlled themselves? And maybe some of the good guys being forced to attack other good guys? I guess it doesn't matter, but it would have helped to see it more clearly.

And OMG, Rand. "This happened because of me." Yes, that is basically the point of the entire story. Can we drop the self-pity and move forward?

 

 

[DoctorAtomic]

On 3/18/2025 at 5:35 AM, shrewd.buddha said:

The literally magic healing of main characters seems to lower the stakes.  No one is going to die until the plot decides it's their time.

I think you know that the main characters have plot armor like any other show. To be fair, while you know Ny isn't going to die, the point there is that she couldn't channel to either defend herself or wake Mat out of his stupor. So there's second order effects going on.